


inevitable

by wanderlustings



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:03:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4032814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderlustings/pseuds/wanderlustings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three things had happened today that Amy had definitely not anticipated:</p>
<p>1) Captain Holt, her mentor, left the precinct. </p>
<p>2) Jake, her partner, kissed her in the evidence lockup. (A real kiss this time, with no undercover identities to protect.)</p>
<p>3) Amy kissed him back. (Also for real. Romantic-stylez.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	inevitable

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fic in about two years, but these two lovestruck nerds just latched onto me and would not let go. The season two finale was basically every trope I love come to life. I mean, an undercover date AND undercover kissing with Real Feelings involved??? And don't even get me started on that evidence lockup kiss -- WHAT A KISS. Like as far as TV kisses go, that's at least in my top five. 
> 
> Anyways. Don't mind me. I'm still not over it.

Amy Santiago likes being prepared. 

She likes schedules and lists and color-coded binders. She likes having things in order and being able to anticipate what’s ahead.

But three things had happened today that Amy had definitely not anticipated:

1) Captain Holt, her mentor, left the precinct. 

2) Jake, her partner, kissed her in the evidence lockup. (A real kiss this time, with no undercover identities to protect.)

3) Amy kissed him back. (Also for real. Romantic-stylez.)

Yes, her partner. Jake "eyes closed, head first, can't lose" Peralta, the epitome of unpreparedness. On the surface, it made no sense for her to be drawn to him – his credit score was laughable, his desk was in disarray, and his meals usually consisted of either lukewarm pizza or some other greasy concoction. 

And yet, they both had the same competitive fire, the same need to be recognized. Jake could make fun of her all he wanted for sucking up to Holt, but she knew he was looking for the same validation, even if he didn't know it himself. 

Right. Captain Holt – well, now _former_ -captain Holt. Amy was still having a hard time wrapping her head around everything that had happened this morning. If she didn't turn around, she could almost imagine that it was Holt inside the captain's office right now instead of the strict, no-nonsense Wuntch clone that had stepped off the elevator just moments earlier. 

Their new captain, Helen Summers, ironically did not seem like a warm person at all. Her first meeting with the squad had been brisk and all-business, undercut with a smugness that immediately rubbed Amy the wrong way. She wondered what lies Wuntch had been feeding her about Holt and the rest of the Nine-Nine.

After briefly introducing herself, Summers had instructed the Sarge to meet her in the captain’s office – now _her_ office – and sauntered away without so much as a glance at the other detectives. She was trailed by her assistant, Maggie Park, a petite woman who appeared to have a permanent scowl etched on her face.

Terry sighed and raised his eyebrows. “Well, here goes nothing,” he said as he turned to follow them.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Charles exhaled loudly. "Well, then."

"I don't like this," said Rosa. 

Hitchcock frowned. "Who was that?"

"She literally  _just_  said she was our new captain," said Jake. He wasn't really annoyed, but there was an edge to his voice that told Amy he was just as shaken up as she was. 

This felt wrong. All of it felt so, so wrong.

 

* * *

 

"Hey. You okay?" Jake asks, interrupting her thoughts. Amy realizes that she's been staring blankly at her keyboard for several minutes. 

"What? Yeah. Fine. Just... thinking." She meets Jake's eyes and realizes this is the first time they've spoken since their kiss. His gaze is careful, like he doesn't want to scare her off.

_Screw that_ , Amy thinks.  _Amy Santiago is_ not _scared._

Well. Maybe a little scared. 

The thing is, Amy isn't sure what to expect, and she _hates_ that feeling.

Honestly, she doesn’t know where any of this is going, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t even a little freaked out. All of this could go south very quickly, and messing up her friendship with Jake would be painful for both of them. Ever since they became partners four years ago, their playful banter and easy rapport had become a constant in her life, and she would hate to lose any of that. She cares about him too much to risk it.

But those were just the cons. Amy also has to consider the pros.

Hypotheticals aside, there’s no reason to think that this wouldn’t work out. Obviously they work well together. They know each other’s quirks, and although Jake’s unhealthy eating habits and disregard for rules had grated on her at first, Amy realizes she’s come to regard those quirks with some level of affection. (Well, okay, his diet of display-temperature pizza and powdered donuts _is_ kinda gross, and he really should eat better in the interest of maintaining his health. When was the last time Jake had been to the doctor or dentist? Amy isn’t sure if she wants to know.)

Back to the point. Clearly, they’re good partners. So why not take their partnership to the next level? And if the butterflies Amy got in her stomach whenever she looked at him was any indication, maybe this was a leap worth taking.

Butterflies? _Ugh_. What a cliché. And yet she and Jake had this electricity between them, the kind she’d only read about in cheesy romance novels. Maybe those authors were on to something.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Jake briefly glance at her. He looks like he’s about to say something, but seems to think better of it. He turns his attention back to the report he’s filling out, the moment forgotten.

Amy frowns at her computer monitor, absent-mindedly tucking her hair behind her ears. Jake had been forthright with her about his feelings, but he’d never been pushy, and Amy had been impressed by the maturity he’d shown as of late. She appreciates that Jake is keeping a respectful distance, she really does.

But respectful distance isn't what she wants right now. At least, she doesn't think so. 

_So what do you_ really _want, Amy? And how will you let him know?_

She stands abruptly, drawing the attention of everyone in the precinct. From across the room, she sees Rosa raise an eyebrow. Oops. Subtlety has never been Amy's forte.

"I'm... just gonna go to the evidence lockup," she announces awkwardly, grabbing a random case file from her desk. Her eyes flick to Jake's briefly and she sees his gaze fill with understanding. 

 

* * *

 

Amy goes to the evidence lockup and waits, nervously fiddling with her case file. She knows Jake’s smart enough not to follow her right away – that would be way too obvious. (They’re in a precinct full of _detectives_ , for crying out loud.) But there are so many thoughts building inside her head that she feels like she’ll burst if she waits any longer.

Approximately seven minutes and 37 seconds later (what? It's not like she was keeping track or anything, that's ridiculous), Jake comes into the room and closes the door.

"Hey," says Jake. 

"Hey," says Amy. 

They stand there looking at each other for a few moments. Amy realizes too late that it was a bad idea to meet here. They're standing in the exact same spot where they kissed, and all Amy can think about is how Jake's lips felt on hers, how his hands had roamed up her back, and how he had looked at her afterwards all awed and full of wonder, the same way he had looked at her at the Maple Drip Inn after she admitted she'd liked him. 

She thinks about how, right before they kissed, they had stared at each other for a few beats too long, with months, maybe even years of unresolved tension between them. She thinks about how his gaze had dropped, about how he was looking at her lips exactly like he was doing at this moment, and how she’d leaned forward to meet him in the middle, and how --

"So!" Amy exclaims, breaking the silence. Jake's eyes shoot back up to meet hers, startled, and he hastily takes a step back. 

"Um, yeah," Amy continues, embarrassed at how breathless she sounds. "We should probably talk. About, uh. Stuff." She winces. Apparently she still needs to learn how to make better mouth. 

Across from her, Jake’s expression shifts, and he suddenly looks more vulnerable than she's ever seen him. "Right. Amy, I... owe you an apology."

"An apology?" Amy's breath catches in her throat. In spite of herself, a million nagging doubts begin to creep into her head. _Here it is_ , she thinks. Here’s the part where he tells her that it was all a mistake, and that he was confused, and that it didn't mean anything, and she should just forget it ever happened.  

"Yeah," Jake says, looking down. "I shouldn't have overstepped your boundaries like that. I know about your no-dating-cops rule, and I shouldn't --"

"Hey,  _listen_ ," Amy says fiercely, filled with a sudden wave of emotion. It's been a weird past couple of days, and she's emotionally exhausted, and she doesn't know how much longer they can dance around this  _thing_  between them, whatever it is. "I kissed you back, didn't I?"

He blinks at her, surprised. "Honestly, I was starting to think I imagined it."

"You didn't," Amy says. She takes a deep breath and steps forward. Jake holds his ground. She's hyper-aware of how close they are, but she can't let herself get distracted. She has to say what needs to be said. "Jake, forget about the no cops rule, okay?"

"Okay..." he says, waiting for her to continue. There's a light spreading across his features, a cautious smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It fills Amy with an inexplicable warmth, and she finds the courage to keep talking.

“Look, I said I didn’t want to date cops because I was scared of what might happen if things go wrong. Everything could get really messy and complicated.” She takes a deep breath. “But then I thought, what if I’m missing out on something really great? I’d never know unless I took that chance. And I usually think that it’s better to be safe than sorry, but… maybe that doesn’t apply to everything. Maybe, in some cases, the risk is worth it.”

She pauses, glancing at Jake. He’s giving her that soft smile, the one that makes her heart skip a beat. It’s the same smile she’d first seen during their rooftop stakeout, the one they’d been pulled into the night their bet had concluded. She’d made some comment about his crushing debt, and his expression had been some mix of pleasant surprise and genuine affection. For the first time that night, Amy had allowed herself to think that maybe their so-called “worst date ever” wasn’t so bad after all.

“I thought you said you didn’t want things to change,” Jake says, pulling her back to the present. The warmth in his expression has been tempered a little. He’s waiting for her cue, she realizes. All of this and yet he still wants to make sure that this is what she wants.

She shrugs, choosing her words carefully. “Things _are_ changing, and we can’t do anything about it. But maybe some of it’s for the better.”

“You think so?” His expression is hopeful.

She can’t help but smile. “Yeah.”

She kisses him then, because she figures she’s better at showing rather than telling, and he kisses her back in earnest, hands pulling her closer, mouth slanting over hers. It’s as sweet and tender as their first kiss, but also different somehow, and Amy wonders if she’ll ever stop feeling those butterflies.

She hopes not.

**Author's Note:**

> HAHA well I don't know what this is but I definitely wasn't expecting it to be this long. 
> 
> A couple of notes:
> 
> 1) We don't know when Amy and Jake actually became partners. Amy's been at the Nine-Nine since at least 2008, when the first Jimmy Jab Games were, but in "Beach House" she says something like, "I've been carrying this squad for two years, and my back's getting tired." How long has she been there? How long has anyone been there? Who knows. I just picked a number in the middle. I remember discussing this with people on Tumblr and coming up with some ideas as to what she could be referring to, but until we get canon confirmation, it's up in the air.
> 
> 2) On the show, we don't always have a good idea of what Amy's thinking, so I wanted to try to write from her perspective. We see Jake talk about his feelings a lot with other characters, but we don't really see Amy do that. I really hope that we get to see her verbalize her feelings in S3. 
> 
> That's all, folks. Comment if you want to I guess. ok byeeeeeeeeee


End file.
